Process of extracting iron from its ores.



HERBERT .HA.B.S,

PROCESS OLE EXTRACTING 13301 32$ these conditions corresponds therefore closely to the theoretical requirements,

K a great economy is effected. 55 Forcarrying on the process "fe 4 the ironjozzids and. red" L. khan:

FRANCISCO, CKLLIFGREIA.

o paraliin series,

liquid ruels, composed o o, and acetylene 1 1 56 5 Specification of Letters Patent. Pgi -y, 961 3;- Ho Drawing. Application filed october 20, 191-33.

To all whom it may concern: be DI'OYH Be it known that l, l-l'inmnsr Haas, a oitiof twyr zen of the United States, residing at San all at Francisco, in the county of San Francisco pipes would'al'ways 5 and State of California, have ii vented new point to which we bath of iron 0. and useful Improvements in Processes c during the smelting ogei. Extracting iron from its Ores, of which th these *vor pipes are placed following is a specification. ed and proton This invention relates to anew process al to be able to of making iron and steel direct from the iron e molten ore Without first converting it into iron 'ihg iemov hle :ittings, in the iron-blast furnace, as done at presc: trained, repaired cot, and then using the pig iron as the raw o .1111], crude oil, fuel material, either in the mo e :1 state or as i hyorocarl'ion oompietely bars, in the inanufai atomized or 'i'aporized by subjecting it to :1

hi pressure, or nigh temperature, or both, l the oil through the atomnozzle. Evaporation oi the oil at the l' temperature is prevented by keeping i in the oil heaters and containers under a-basic lining. procure hot, at the instant it is released or by fuel-oil. f nozzle OZlIlCQS, it vaporized. ihis corrosion of the furnace liar u i it possible to use oil fuel, molten iron is kept in the for y 1. i smelting the iron ore, but also so that the corrosion of the lining if molten iron oxids confined to as T forcing the atomized area as possible. in order to melt L1. ri h the molten iron oxids more readily, they are preferably ,oxi" omg oo,'iiring of the furnace, either crushed and pulverized, so to offer byloil or fuel. would not be interrupted, large a surface as possible to the heat-radifor 'tlioioilo'wing reasons which reasons will 'ating roof of the furnace, and so thattaey explain the nscessity of vaporizing or will rapidly siiiread over th e tir ta} atomiaing the oil: ll hen. it is desired to use bath and. be quickly melted. When a suffifuel oil. "for reducing the molten iron mild, ci'ent ainount of molten oxid of iron has been it especially necessary to have. the oil as accumulated in the furnace, Yapm'ized fuel completely possible vaporized, as it not oil is forced through the miilten 'oxid of 011"? requires much heat to break up most iron, the oxygen of which con'ibines wi h the hydrocarbons into their constituent elecarbon and hydrogen in the petroleum, iormments, hydrogen and carbon, but when iron ing carbon dioxid and mmmgid a d oxid reacts with either carbon or hydrogen, 40 water, thus reducing the iron. h it'is absorbed. That is, While the carbon Before entering into a further L tion burning either to carbon monoxid or carbon of the apparatus used for carrying out the dioxid produces heat, and likewise, hydroabov'eprocess, I Wish "Ti point out that, since gen barning '5 Water the gaseo s State) into i irorfizidi a molten condition, and produ heat, the heat of dissociationof at such a high are, via: about is greater than the heat produced by 1600 6., is forced the r .icii'igogent in the the oxygen (combined with the iron) conifinely divided form vapor, thenontact bining with the carbon and hydrogen. in-' surface of the reacting" subs moss is? in; troduced. Moreover, much heat Will be ca:-v creased a iniliioniold, so that the chemical ried y the resulting 1103 Waste mass action is correspondingly increased and Tool t-rate i poi 751, instead of using accelerated. Tl'ie use of-th-e under the benplcxhydrocarbon compounds of the stituent.

, splitting up of theioil does not takeplace before the oil issues from the atomizing nozzle, so that all of the 'oil is used up. But for the purposes of illustrating the entire reaction 1, that of methane, Which will be the principal constituent of the resulting oil gas, may serve as representing one of the 56,320 calories, would leave only a balance principal reactions taking place; To split ories are necessary.

- i Reaction 1. 4Fe,O,'+ 30H, 8Fe 300 61-1 0 it up into carbon and hydrogen 22,250 cal- Thus 209,190 calories are absorbed.- In addition, the 13.3.3 .cbm. of water (gas) formed, heated to 1600 C. would carry ofi 123,722 calories, and the 66.66 CO as,

77,000'calories more, or a total of 200, 22

calories in the gases, which in addition to the heat absorbed in the reaction at zero (1., would bring the totalheat absorption to nearly 410,000 calories. The heat in the molten oxids of iron 4Fe O =4= 160 713:

ofa little over 46,000 calories, which would lower the temperature of the resulting (4A8 kg.) of iron reduced considerably below its melting point, there being a deficiency of nearly 92,500 calories to keep the iron at 1600 (1., or about 206 calories per 1 k of iron, or 145 calories per 1 kg. Fe O ta ing part in this reducing reaction.

If the carbon in the above reaction (1) is only burned to 00, carbon monoxid, as follows (reaction 2):

, there wouldbe a still greater deficiency of heat to make the process self-supporting (without the addition of heat from an outside source), 420 calories per 1 "kg. Fe, and 292 kg. calories per 1kg. Fe,O,' being required in addition to what is realized from the reaction 2, whereas in react-ion I burning the C to CO this deficiency would only be 145 calories per 1 kg. Fe' O and 206 calories-per 1 kg. iron. Withliquid hydrocarbons condition'sar even worse, that is, more heat would beabsorbed in the reaction, so that a liquid fuel, coming in contact with the iron oxid (under exclusion of air) would act very much like a stream of cold water,

molten material stored in the furnace.

and freeze the iron oxid to a. solid mass, almost the instant it comes in contact with it.

By heating the oil under ressure and forcing it out through an atomlzer, it would pass into the vaporous stateimmediately when released. By limiting the amount of oil that is so vaporized to a relatively very small quantity compared with the large body of molten material stored in the furnace, and havin each point at which the vaporized oil is introduced into the furnace surrounded by a relatively very much larger surface of molten iron or iron oxid, the

large quantity of molten metal or metallic oxid can exchange and give off a portion of its heat and transmit it to the metal that 15 being chilled in proximity'to the oil atomizer, and thus avoid its 'fre'ezing. The

greater the difference of temperature be tween the metal that is-being chilled by the action of the oil upon it and the metal surrounding it, the more rapid will be this heat exchange. In a large furnace, a number of such atomizers would be spaced as far apart.

as possible so as not to confine this chilling action to one localized area, and have its intensity nullified by reducing the amount in troduced at any one point to a rate which will-permit of any heat deficiency in the process of reduction being taken care of by the heat transmitted from the lar e body of molten material in the furnace. he firing of the furnace is proceeded with simultaneously as the process of reducing the iron oxids to iron is going on, keepingthe metal bath at a high temperature.

To make the above remarks clearer, a numerical example will easily illustrate the point. Assuming that we have 50 (metric) tons of molten iron oxid in the furnace, and 50 (metric); tons of molten iron, at about l600 0., we would have contained in the iron oxid some 35,650,000 calories, and in the iron 15,500,000 calories, or a total of .51,- 150,000 calories. With a deficiellc'y of approximately 150,000 calories per 1 (metric) ton of iron oxid during the process of reduction, this would represent slightly more than 0.3% of the total heat capacity of till;

10'tons of Fe O, were to be reduced per hour, I or 167 kg. "per minute, only about 3% of the total heat stored in the molten materials would have to be exchanged and With 1,500,000 calories per bbl. o and a 25% furnace efficiency, 4 bbls. of oi tgiven oil.-

fuel oil would have to be burned to make up this de- I fieiency, or 0.4 bbl. per ton of iron oxid. This would, of c0urse,be in addition to the fuel oil used to smelt the iron ore and fluxes and convert them into the molten 1i uid state, initially, before the process of ing the iron oxide to iron would begin.

After the iron oxide have been reduced to iron, a portion of it may be transferredto and finished into steel by usual refining or recarburizing processes, if it is not desired to finish the reduced iron and convert it into steelin the same furnace. To reduce the fuel consumption, and facilitate the smelting of the iron ore and fiuxes, as has already been explained above, it is desirable to maintain a-bed of molten iron always in the hearth, and remove only a portion of this iron or steel, and on top of the remaining bath charge fresh iron ore and fluxes, repeating the'above described op erations.

I claim 1. The' which consists in smelting, without first reanother furnace,

du'cing, lIOIl ores with necessary fluxes, and

then forclng through the molten mass finely divided oil.

2. The process of making iron or steel which consists in smelting, Without first reducing, iron ores With necessary fluxes, and then forcing through the molten mass oil that has been finely divided by subjecting it to a high pressure and forcing it through a small aperture.

3. The process of making iron or steel which consists in smelting, without first re-.

ducing, iron ores with necessary fluxes, and then forcingthrough the molten mass oil process of making Iron or steel that has been finely divided by subjecting it to a high temperature and forcing it through a small aperture. v

4. The process of making iron or steel which consists in smelting, With'out first reducing, iron ores with necessary fluxes, and then forcing through the molten mass oil that has been finely divided by forcing it at a high pressure and temperature through an atomizer. 5. The process of making iron or steel by smelting iron ores with necessary fluxes Without first reducing the oxids and forcing through the molten iron oxids While they are in the liquid molten state petroleum at a temperature above its ordinary flashpoint and. preventing its evaporation before it is released by keeping it in the heater and container under pressure sufficiently high, so that all of the petroleum will remain a liquid while in the heater and container, but will be transformed into a finely atomized vapor as soon as it issues from the atomizer orifice.

- In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing w1tnesses.-

HERBERT HAAS.

Witnesses:

FRANCIS M. WRIGHT,

-D. B. RICHARDS. 

